Contact 6: Federal lawsuit filed against Instant Tax Service

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MILWAUKEE -- Complaints about Instant Tax Service turned into a federal lawsuit against its corporate headquarters, and FOX6's Contact 6's reports played a role.

Close to 25 complaints about Instant Tax Service - a tax preparation company located near 81st and Appleton first caught Contact 6's eye when cell phone video was handed over, showing chaos inside the business from those angry that workers made promises of loans, but used check stubs from the loan applications to file people's taxes without their knowledge or approval. Then, the company charged upwards of $700 in tax preparation fees.

Just this week, the Department of Justice accused the company of doing exactly that - knowingly using false and deceptive loans to trick people into paying high tax preparation fees.

In all, the DOJ filed suits against five Instant Tax Service franchises in Chicago, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Kansas City and the company's corporate headquarters in Dayton, Ohio - including its CEO, Fez Ogbazion.

On pages 12 and 17 of the Ohio suit, the DOJ cites stories by FOX6's Contact 6 as proof of recurring problems with the company, including Contact 6's interview clip with Ogbazion that the DOJ says is an admission that the company charges high fees for loans.

Contact 6 continues to receive complaints about the company's 81st and Appleton location, and urges customers to call the State Bureau of Consumer Protection, because the government is taking legal action now.